As The Plumbob Turns
by KasumiSatoshi
Summary: The daily lives of the pre-made Sims characters in the PC versions of the Sims games (mostly Sims 2 and Sims 3, but Sims 1 and Sims 4 chapters may also appear)
1. Intro

Kon'nichiwa, genkidesuka!

Welcome to this 'fic. For those of you who know me, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. However, this doesn't mean I've been slacking! It sucks being an adult and having to juggle work, home, family and free time, but that's life! :P

Anyways, this 'fic will be a collaboration between my niece (AkiraTheAngel is her username) and me. She mainly plays Sims 2 a lot, while I stick mainly to Sims 3. However, all of the Sims games (Sims 1-4) will be covered, but with a particular focus on Sims 2 & 3\. I will include which of us wrote the chapter at the beginning of it, and this way you can see how we both write (with any similarities/differences that may happen). Most of the stuff we write will take direction from the in-game "scenarios" that the game provides in the family/Sim description. Mods for the game may have been used in some instances, but they only provide more drama and more interesting stories.

Just a note, these chapters are not in any particular order. After we have some chapters posted, there will be a list here of what chapters go in what order, and they will be sorted by which of us wrote them. This way, if you want a "timeline" of sorts, you know what order what event(s) happened. If we update the list, this intro will be updated as well.

-[Chapter List]-

-Chapters written by AkiraTheAngel:

-Chapter 1

-Chapter 2

-Chapters written by KasumiSatoshi:

-Chapter 3


	2. Bella's Return

As The Plumbob Turns

Chapter 1: "Bella's Return"

Written by: AkiraTheAngel

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Cassandra was holding Lunetta, preparing for her daughter's birthday. She looked around. Alexander was smiling, holding a noisemaker. Her father, Mortimer, and Dina, his new wife, were smiling. She didn't completely trust Dina, but she seemed nice enough...

' _Mom, I wish you were here to see her...'_ She said, looking at the smiling face of baby Lunetta. She didn't look like most alien babies, which was interesting. Cassandra had been surprised when the adoption agency brought an alien baby, that's for sure, but she saw Lunetta and fell in love with her. She was a Family Sim, after all. Lunetta looked familiar, but Cassandra couldn't quite place the facial features. _'Oh well, maybe I'll be able to when she's older.'_

She held the baby near the cake, and started to sing. Alexander got a bit too excited and started spinning the noisemaker, which distracted her for a moment. Once the candles had been blown out, she held Lunetta. At any moment, she would get older...now they just had to wait and see...

She aged up, in a colorful burst of confetti. Cassandra looked at Lunetta. Her hair, which had been an indeterminate color during her baby years, was raven-black, falling in curls over her head. Cassandra picked her up, and Mortimer walked over to her.

"Hi, Lunetta...glad you've aged up. Now you can be potty-trained...no more diapers!" The toddler reached out an arm, and he smiled.

"She's going to be a beautiful woman when she's older." Dina added, taking in the child's facial features. She wondered who the toddler looked like...trouble was, she couldn't place it. She turned to Cassandra. "If you need any help, I'm here for you. I doubt you'll have any trouble, but you never know. Some kids are stubborn."

She laughed, thinking of her sister. Nina had refused to do her homework for the first two years of school, and it had driven their mother crazy. Dina, on the other hand, had been pretty good with math...especially math involving Simoleons.

"Do you ever miss your sister?" Cassandra asked, catching that look in her eyes. She wondered how she'd feel when Alexander moved out...by then, she'd hopefully have found someone worth marrying. Don Lothario, being a Romance Sim, had gotten cold feet and left her at the altar...

"Sometimes. She's probably having the time of her life, not having to clean up after me, though!" She couldn't help it. It was a personality trait she never bothered to fix. "What was it my mother used to say? _'We'll be best friends once you have your own house, when I won't have to remind you to clean your room'_ , or something like that."

"I bet she still misses you, though. I know I'll miss Alex when he's grown, and out on his own." Cassandra smiled. She didn't say it, but she had been filling the parent role for Alex since their mom's disappearance. Once their dad met Dina, it had been different. He was happier, and it showed.

She heard a strange sound, like someone knocking on the door. _'Who visits someone at 9 o'clock at night?'_ She shrugged, walking over towards the door. Maybe someone was pranking them.

Cassandra opened the door, shocked by the face on the other side. A familiar face, but one she hadn't seen in forever.

"M-mom!?"

"Cassandra, Alex...you two have grown so much..." Bella said, frowning. She'd been trying to find her family since the aliens dropped her off in Strangetown. Well, not so much dropped her off, as crash-landed. There had been a clone of her they were working on, and that escaped too. That was a mess.

Bella didn't remember much, like a chunk of her life was missing. She hadn't aged while on the ship either, but now that she'd gotten some information, she realized she'd been gone for ten years. She looked past Cassandra, and saw Alexander running up to her.

"Mommy!"

"My baby boy..." She said, hugging him close. She never wanted to leave either of them again. "Where's your father, sweetie?"

"In the other room." Cassandra said nervously. She didn't know how her mother would react to Mortimer remarrying. She gestured for Bella to follow, and led her to the living room, where Mortimer sat on the couch, watching Lunetta play. Dina sat beside him, looking up at Bella. Her green eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Who's this girl?" Bella asked, scanning Dina's figure. Her dress was too tight, and too low-cut for her opinion. She felt a twinge of jealousy...why was there a strange woman in her living room? Sitting by her husband, no less? She sighed. _'Great. Now I've got to deal with this floozy.'_ She thought, but ignored it. She walked over to Lunetta.

"And who's this beautiful _bambina?_ " She said, reaching out a hand towards the toddler.

-[flashback]-

 _*Devilish, all-black eyes staring at her. Light green hands poking her arms with sharp needles, filled with strange mixes that made her sleepy. Watching her home, her town, flying out of sight. And she couldn't do anything about it.*_

-[end flashback]-

Bella recoiled, as if the toddler was a snake.

"Her name is Lunetta. She's my daughter. I adopted her." Cassandra responded. "Are you okay, Mom?" she asked, looking at her worried expression.

"Sorry, honey. Just had a long day." She said, dismissing her daughter's concerns with a wave of her hand. "But at least I've found my family again." She said, motioning for both children to come over to her. She hugged both of them.

"Mommy? You're going to stay, right?" Alexander said, dark brown eyes flashing with worry.

"Of course, honey. I won't leave again, I promise." She said, almost crying at her son's expression. She had missed so much of his life...first day of school, first friend, maybe even his first crush.

"Wanna see my room?" He said, not noticing her tear-filled eyes.

"Of course. Show me the way!" She said, pretend-chasing him. Despite being a Romance sim, she'd found life with her family rather fulfilling. She followed him into his room, smiling at the decor. The walls were striped with purple, and the carpet was dark blue. A few drawings, possibly his, were taped up near his bed.

She wondered if that woman in the living room had helped. She had a bad feeling about her...Bella couldn't place it, but those facial features were familiar. She looked around, and wondered why he had a dollhouse in his room. She looked inside, and saw a tiny alien figure.

-[flashback]-

 _*A smiling face, with thin lips and large eyes, staring at her. Laughing as she tried to pull her arm away, holding it there with his gloved hands. They'd learned to restrain her after she got an arm free and scratched one of them. She'd smiled, briefly, as blue blood welled up around the cut.*_

-[end flashback]-

She must not have realized where she was, because she looked down and saw a destroyed dollhouse at her feet. _'Llamas! That'll be hard to explain...'_

Alexander looked at the dollhouse, seemingly unfazed. "Did my dolls make you angry? I told them to be nice to you..." He said, looking at the broken pieces. Most of the dolls were undamaged...even the alien one.

Bella scowled, turning away."Only one of them. The green man was being rude. He made me think of bad memories." She said, hugging her son. Alexander then walked over to the little alien doll, picking him up.

"You've been naughty. You need a time-out." He said, putting it in the toybox. Bella giggled slightly. Was she ever like that as a child? Those memories were buried...easily 40 years old...

"Do you wanna meet Dina?"

"Dina?" She repeated, thinking of a pet; dog, cat, parrot, something.

"Yeah! She's the nice lady daddy married."

"Married?"

"Yup. He thought you were gone forever...what's going to happen now?" He said, eyes shining.

Bella thought of the woman downstairs... _'Dina? That's why she was so familiar...She looks like one of the aliens...'_ She thought, running down the stairs. Alexander tried to keep up. She didn't hear anything else; all she wanted to do was get Mortimer away from the alien girl.

Bella stood by the couch, pulling Mortimer's arm. He stood up, and she stood between him and Dina.

"Stay away from my man." She said, eyes flashing with rage.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You're an alien! You look just like...just like _them!_ " She said, curling her lip.

"This will be fun to explain..." She said, putting a hand on her forehead. "Sit down, you crazy _perra_. I'll explain everything."

Bella sat down, not taking her eyes off of Dina, convinced that if she watched long enough, she'd see...something. A flash of green skin, black eyes, something...

"Okay. You see Lunetta?" She said, pointing to the blissfully unaware toddler. Bella nodded. "My father was born the same way she was. My grandfather was abducted, like you, then he came back and gave birth to my father. My father married my mother, then had me and Nina. That's why I have some alien-like features."

"Why isn't your skin green?"

"Because, my mother was a normal Sim. She had a normal skintone, as did my father, strangely enough." She said, sitting down on the armchair, a safe distance from Mortimer, in case Bella got possessive.

"Mom? Why are you two fighting?"

"Nobody told me your father married this...this _puttana!_ " She said, returning to the couch. "That's not okay!"

"Mom, everyone thought you were dead. Me and Dad included." Cassandra said, being the voice of reason. Not the best idea, when her mom had some form of PTSD and her father remarried someone who's 1/4 alien.

"You didn't think I'd come back?"

"10 years is a long time." Cassandra said, sitting beside her mother. "Alex, he didn't even remember much of you. Just a smile."

"Great. This is the family I come home to. I missed half of my son's life, most of your teenage years, and my husband married _her._ " She said, pointing to Dina.

"Try to be a bit more logical, Bella. I'll gladly give you your husband back. He clearly loves you, even after 10 years. He would go up onto the roof and stargaze every night to find you. I'd hear him talking, to himself or you, I don't know. Something like _'I'll find you, someday.'_ He never gave up on you." She said, with a faint smile. "He always thought I was asleep when he did."

Bella rolled her eyes. There must be a catch in there, somewhere.

"I'm not going to deny it, because you'd call me out on it. All of you." Mortimer spoke, for the first time since the whole argument started. "And you're right, Dina. Some part of me knew she'd come back. Someday. I tried to move on, but I couldn't. I never meant to hurt you."

"You didn't...I figured it was natural. To be completely honest, I used to talk to Michael after he died."

"Michael? My brother, Michael?" Bella asked. How much had she missed?

"Yeah. I thought you knew this..."

"He told me he got married, but never said who." She shrugged. What could she do now? Scream at his ghost?

"When I moved in here after marrying Mortimer, I brought his urn with me. It's in the graveyard out back." Dina continued.

"So, what's going on here?" Alexander asked, looking extremely confused.

"Your daddy isn't going to be married to me anymore. We can still be friends, but we won't be married. I'll come and visit, say hello every so often." Dina said. "Let me call my sister. She's going to lose her mind." She said, with a faint smile on her face.

"Maybe you're not so bad..." Bella muttered, barely audible. Cassandra looked over at Dina, and noticed a change she hadn't payed attention to before. Was she gaining weight?


	3. Don's Alien Experience

As The Plumbob Turns

Chapter 2: "Don's Alien Experience"

Written by: AkiraTheAngel

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Don was bored. He didn't know why, he just was. Maybe it was because everyone was busy. Nobody was answering their phones. Cassandra was mad at him, and with good reason. Kaylynn was busy working. And Nina wasn't answering her phone, probably off on a run. _'Oh well,'_ he thought with a sigh.

He walked out on the deck, noticing the telescope. _'Maybe I can play around with that until someone calls me back,'_ he thought, wandering over to it. Don had avoided stargazing since Bella got abducted; of course, everyone blamed him, but it wasn't his fault! She'd been the one who wanted to stargaze.

Don looked up at the sky, noticing a shooting star. _Wait a minute...that star's getting closer!_ Rubbing his eyes, he looked again. _'Where'd it go? It was there a minute ago...'_ He turned around. There was a UFO, right behind him. He tried to hold onto the telescope, but that didn't work. He felt himself pulled upward, then everything went black.

-[]-[]-[]-

Don woke up with a start. Where was he? He couldn't move his arms, or legs. Suddenly, someone with green skin, pointed ears, and large black eyes walked over to him. He spoke Simlish, but there was a strong accent making him difficult to understand.

"Ah...you're awake? Good, now we can start." The alien said, holding up a needle, filled with some strange liquid. Don tried to pull himself free, but whatever held him there was far too strong for him to get out of. "Don't try," the alien said. "I don't wanna sedate you like I did with the other one."

' _The other one? Bella?'_ Don thought, trying to avoid the alien's gaze. The eyes were creepy enough; he'd have nightmares about those for a while. Now he felt bad for Bella...who knew how long she'd dealt with this.

"She calmed down after a while. Seemed to understand we weren't trying to hurt her, or maybe she just realized it would be easier for everyone if she didn't try to scratch us." The alien shrugged, such a Sim-like gesture...no. The sooner Don got off this ship, the better. Then he could go about his life. If anyone asked, he just went for a trip somewhere.

"That same logic applies here, you know. If you don't try to hurt anyone, you should be back home within a couple hours." He said, as if he'd just realized that Don was there. Did they all have conversations with themselves? Or just the crazy ones?

The alien spun around, holding a strange device _. 'I'm going to be this nutjob's test subject!'_ Don thought, trying to find any way out.

"Oh, this? This won't hurt you...it just scans your memories. We're trying to gather more information on Sims." The alien said, putting it down on a small table beside Don. It was small and clearly made of metal. The alien pressed a button, and it made a whirring sound.

All of Don's memories started playing before his eyes. His earliest memories, such as learning to walk and talk, came first. They were as clear as if they had just happened. Next he was seeing his teenage years; high school, especially. Now adulthood came. His parents' deaths. Getting shocked by a broken TV. Bella rejecting him. Bella getting abducted. Kaylynn. Cassandra. Nina. It was almost too much...

Then it stopped.

"Cool, huh?" The alien said with a satisfied smile. "You have some interesting memories. Who were all those women? Friends of yours, or something more?" He was smirking. He almost sounded human.

He grabbed a syringe, and walked over to Don. "This shouldn't hurt much. Kind of like you getting a shot." He said, and put the needle into his arm. Apparently satisfied with the amount of blood he drew, he put it into a small container. Another one walked up to him, taking it to another room.

" _How many of them are on this ship? It seems so small..."_ Don wondered if it was an illusion; maybe the ship was much larger than it seemed.

"You're right there." Don's thoughts were interrupted, once more, by the alien.

' _If I could just reach him, I'd slap him_.'

"Maybe not the best idea. After all, I have all this shiny technology...I could always claim any injury you sustained was an _'accident'_."

"Now, if you just behave for a little while longer, we'll send you home and be on our way." He spoke to another alien in their own language. The little alien nodded, then walked away to grab something.

Returning a few minutes later, the alien he thought of as a 'worker bee' handed something over. He couldn't see it very well, but it still made Don nervous. Grabbing a syringe filled with a metallic substance, the lead alien turned back to Don.

"This part is rather painful. We'll sedate you for this." He said, and almost instantly Don fell asleep.

-[]-[]-[]-

When Don woke up, he was back on the roof of his condo, right beside his telescope. _'Huh. Was it a bad dream?'_ He shuddered. _'No. Definitely real.'_ He shook himself off, walking downstairs. His phone was ringing, so he picked it up. It was Nina on the other line.

"Don't scare me like that again! You haven't answered your phone for a day!" She yelled, and he held the phone away from his ear.

"Sorry. I was really busy." Technically not a lie.

"Well, next time you're 'really busy', tell me so I don't panic." She said, sighing. "I've been trying to call you since this morning."

"This morning? I didn't hear my phone ringing this morning. What day is it?"

"Friday. You feeling okay?" She sounded worried now.

"Yeah, yeah. Must have lost track of time." Thankfully, he had today off. It would be difficult to explain to your boss, _'Aliens abducted me last night, sorry.'_ He wondered if she had seen anything last night.

"There were some weird lights at your house last night. What were you doing, throwing a party?" She said, holding back laughter.

"I don't remember." Now that was a lie. He doubted he'd forget, but he had to move on. After all, it's not like it had any permanent effects, right?

"Wow. You must have been really into the juice then." She said. "I've gotta get my sister to stop playing in the tub, but maybe we could hang out tomorrow?"

"I'm okay with that." He said, suddenly feeling nauseous. His stomach had been feeling weird since he woke up, anyway. Probably a side effect from whatever sedative was in that needle.


	4. A Weekend with the Roomies

As The Plumbob Turns

Chapter 3: A Weekend with the Roomies

Written by: KasumiSatoshi

-[]-[]-[]-

Thursday afternoon:

Tamara Donner shook her head at her fellow ballot counters and smiled. They were talking about the latest movie that the theater had obtained, and it seemed intriguing. _'That might be a good idea for tonight. A chance to be out of the house without any of my roommates.'_

"Hey, Tamara, what do you think about the way the last election went?" Tori stood next to Tamara.

"It went...well...I suppose." Tamara sat the stack of ballots aside and wrote down the final totals for each section. "But, we all know how Mrs. Alto was about the fact she nearly lost her position. I'm surprised no one was fired."

Tori nodded. "True. So, what are you doing for your birthday this weekend?"

Tamara sighed. "I think it will be a quiet one. Stiles, one of my roommates, also has a birthday this weekend. He's been a bit antsy lately...almost like he is about to have a mental breakdown. It's daunting to think we will no longer be young adults anymore."

Of course, Tamara wouldn't tell anyone she was already glad that her wild party days were in the past. One of the good things about moving to a new place where people didn't know you was the fact that she wasn't judged on her party-going craziness of her first days as a young adult. She often wondered where her old friends had ended up, but more out of a sense of closure than actually wanting them to be in her life again.

Getting up from her table, Tamara took the basket of ballots and the totals of her counting over to the head of the ballot counters. "Here are my results."

"Thank you, sweetie." The old lady smiled. Even as an elder, the head ballot counter was still working instead of enjoying what remained of her life with her children and grandkids.

Tamara left the Town Hall and headed home on her bike. It was a nice summer day, and tomorrow was the annual Leisure Day. No one, save for some of the Townies who filled in the basic jobs around town, would be required to work. _'Maybe I can go have some pool time and work on my tan tomorrow before I go to the movies.'_ Tamara smiled at the thought. Heck, someone might even have a pool party tomorrow and she could go to that.

-[]-[]-[]-

Saturday morning:

' _Wow, Leisure Day sure went quick!'_ Tamara lay in bed for a few moments before getting up for the day. Today, both she and Stiles had birthdays, and it would be interesting to see what it would be like being Adults instead of Young Adults. _'Probably not much different than what I am doing now, only I won't feel so out of place.'_

A shout from the floor below made Tamara jump as she was putting on her clothes. Running down the hall and downstairs, she was surprised to see Stiles had already had his birthday and was now an Adult. He looked a bit older, sure, but he also had this weird look on his face.

"What do I do?! This is not what I expected!?" Stiles grabbed at his head and seemed oblivious to the others in the apartment who had come to see what the fuss was about.

"Hey, man, it's not that bad. You're still you." Cycl0n3 tried to calm Stiles down, but the older male was having none of that.

"I feel like I need to do some crazy things!" Stiles wailed as he slumped on the floor.

"Oh no, he's having a mid-life crisis!" Emma frowned as she spoke. "That can't be good."

Blair shook her head. "It's frustrating. My dad had one, and he was fine after a bit, but something wasn't the same afterwards."

Tamara looked at the youngest female and nodded. "Stiles will be fine. He just needs to get this out of his system."

Meanwhile, Stiles had stood up and seemingly made a decision. He turned to the others and smiled sadly. "I think it's best if I move out while I'm having this midlife crisis. This way I don't disturb the rest of you."

"What?! You're talking crazy talk, man!" Cycl0n3 was gobsmacked.

"If it's this bad now, imagine how the rest of this midlife crisis will go?" Stiles nodded. "I'll pack my things and be gone by this evening. And, happy birthday, Tamara. I doubt you'll have a midlife crisis. You already are more mature than most others."

-[]-[]-[]-

Saturday night:

Stiles was gone by noon. The rest of the Roomie household was still in a somber mood when Tamara felt the Aging Up begin. It was shortly before midnight when it started, and to celebrate, they had a barbeque on the lower patio, facing the pool that was near the lofts. In a big burst of confetti, Tamara became an Adult. She felt just like before, no different, thank Llama. It was a welcome relief, because there was no way that Tamara could handle a midlife crisis.

"So, what are you going to do now that you're an Adult, T?" Blair smiled as she handed Tamara a plate with a piece of cake.

"Probably what I've been doing, B." Tamara sat down at the table with the cake and began to eat it. Blair followed with her own, and the two ate in companionable silence for a few moments.

Hooking a thumb towards where Cycl0n3 was using the telescope, Blair grinned. "Apparently, Mr. Video Games has already forgotten Stiles has left. Either that, or he's trying to forget. I know he hasn't been with us as long, but I kinda miss him already."

"Yeah. He was always the one making sure we stayed on budget. Maybe that will fall to me, now that I'm the 'responsible adult'." Tamara laughed.

All of sudden, bright lights came from one corner of the lot. The same corner of the lot where Cycl0n3 was using the telescope! Blair dropped her fork and rushed to where the lights came from just in time to see Cycl0n3 get caught in the strange traction beam and vanish. A flying spaceship then zoomed off, leaving everyone astonished at what had happened.

"What the...?" Blair was shocked. Was Cycl0n3 abducted by the mysterious Aliens that people talked about?

"I'll bet this won't turn out good." Emma was still holding the tongs she had used to turn over the hot dogs on the grill. Pointing in the general direction of where the ship took off to, she frowned. "Let's hope they don't probe him too much."

Tamara shuddered. Everyone knew the stories of Alien abductees...and the stories were more wacky if they came from a male abductee.

"We'll have to wait until he comes home. Thankfully none of us work tomorrow." Tamara turned back to the patio. "Let's just get this all cleaned up and then we can wait for his return."

-[]-[]-[]-

Sunday morning, before dawn:

Hours later, Cycl0n3 returned, feeling very odd and like he had been probed all over. The first one to greet him was Blair, and he hugged her tightly to convince himself he was home.

"Oh my Llamas, Cycl0n3! We didn't know what was going on until those lights showed up! Are you okay?" Blair spun him around, making sure nothing was wrong with him.

"I'm fine...just feeling like the probed me one too many times." Cycl0n3 smiled, then greeted Emma and Tamara when they came over. "Although, I do have a sneaking suspicion that they did something to me that they made me forget, I do remember seeing them standing over me as I lay on an examination table, hooked up to all these weird machines. They seemed friendly enough..." Cycl0n3 shrugged. "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to go to bed. It's awful late, and I'm tired."

As the occupants of the Roomies household went to their own rooms and crawled into bed, Cycl0n3 noticed a strange green glow coming from his stomach for just a few moments while he changed into his pajamas, but chalked it up to the strange encounter. "Probably a side effect of what they did to me."

-[]-[]-[]-

Outside the loft:

Having cloaked the ship after dropping off the Sim, the Alien watching through the window smiled. "It turns out the experiment took."

-[]-[]-[]-


End file.
